Human activities or interactions with the environment can be clearly identified as having a direct impact on the world’s ground water supply. Human activities have affected the distribution, quantity and quality of water resources from continent to continent. The extent of impact differs from activity to activity as well as from the initial environmental makeup. Some of the activity that impacted water was simply due to lack of appropriate resources or knowledge. For example, for centuries humans have unknowingly contaminated ground water and drinking water sources with the inappropriate dumping of raw sewage. Let us look more closely at two human activities that have showed significant impact to our ground water sources.
Industrial Development – Industrial Revolution
Perhaps one of the first activities that would come to anyone’s mind when considering environmental impact would be that of industrial development. From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Europe to today’s continued manufacturing, impact has been notable. Coal use in the industries resulted in smog and soot, killing thousands of people. Factories began releasing pollutants directly into rivers and streams with no thought or regard for how it would impacted the ground water in the area. Another by-product – acid rain, first discovered in the 1850s, began to release sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere, impacting plants, fish, soil, forests, etc. There can be no doubt that the Industrial Revolution introduced our society to amazing technological advances, but it also introduced new sources of air and water pollution, some that did not become obvious until the 20th century. In addition to introducing new pollutants to the environment, water levels were also impacted as the need to use water in the factories increased. Water sources were tapped into without any regard for overuse.
Agriculture
When most people think of agricultural practices around the world, they might not immediately connect it to an impact on ground water, however agriculture has been the cause of significant modifications of landscapes throughout the world, have changed the natural flow of water, have polluted standing water sources and have depleted water in many areas. Working the land through clearing, planting and tilling affected ground water immeasurably. The loss of water through soil erosion was one of the biggest changes. Two areas that have had the greatest impact to the quality and quantity of ground water was the use of irrigation practices and the application of chemicals to croplands.
As human impact continues to affect ground water, the need for technology to guide us in finding adequate water sources will continue to rise and the need for organizations that one can trust to guide our searches will increase. We, at the American Water Surveyors, are active members of the Better Business Bureau and are dedicated to being the premier service provider in the water finding industry. Our technicians use state-of-the art-technology to provide necessary professional and accurate information to our clients. Based in Fort Worth, Texas our services are highly portable which allows us to conducts groundwater surveys no matter where we’re needed. For a reasonable quote, contact us at 877-SEISMO1 (734-7661); 817-788-5716; or e-mail [email protected].
